Over the weekend along with Manu, Noah, Octi, and their families we visited Sierra de la Ventana, a series of mountains which are regarded as the highest in Buenos Aires Province. On Saturday we spent most of the day making the long trek, by car, to the region.
Then on Sunday, the fun began. At 10, we woke up to a man named Javier waiting for us to begin our journey up the mountains. As our tour guide, he showed us all the best spots in the mountain which then led us to find out his affinity for outer space. In many of the places we stopped, semi-precious stones which came from meteors over 500 million years old could be found. I wish we could have, but we were not allowed to take any back to the mountain house. Soon we reached the top of the mountain after a long and rough ride where we saw the view of the small town below and the expansive landscape which Argentina had to offer.
After a few hours to rest and eat Asado (or bbq as we would call it), our adventures continued. We reunited with Javier at the town’s local planetarium where we saw a plethora of different precious stones from space, one of which glowed a bright white when UV light was placed upon it. After this he showed us a very informative video about the history of space and how the exploration of space via satellites is ever changing. Finally, to end off the trip we visited a quaint town called Villa de la Ventana where we had a wonderful breakfast and bought some amazing chocolates from a local shop for the long car ride back today. – Conrad
This weekend, Conrad, Octavio, Manu, and I took a 4-day trip to and from La Sierra Ventana for a glamping excursion. During the trip, we all stayed in a dome-shaped tent, which was something I had never seen before. On the trip, we saw a ton of animals, including beavers, foxes, a ton of cows and horses, and even capybaras. Monday was designated to be our travel day back, but we did stop in town to visit the shops and restaurants. We stopped by one store which sold items related to Argentinean culture, such as maté cups (both handcrafted and metal) and straws, knives, small trinkets, blankets, towels, and utensils related to asado or barbecue. We stopped by a small store to buy some dulce de leche just before leaving as well. On the way back from the mountains, someone could look out the windows and see nothing but fields and cows: it’s no wonder to me now why Buenos Aires is considered the meat capital of the world.
On the 8-hour car ride back, the only thing separating Quilmes from the mountains was farmland and one small town in the middle. By the time we arrived at Quilmes and dropped Manu and Conrad off at their flat, it was already nighttime (I believe about 9 or 10 o’clock) and we stopped by Pertutti for dinner. This one was much nicer than the one in Buenos Aires and had a much larger menu. For dinner, I had grilled chicken and the first salad I’ve had during the whole trip. We spoke a lot about the differences between Argentinian and American culture, especially over sports and food and what was popular in both places. Overall, me and my friends’ Monday was filled with a lot of driving, but also a lot of fun. -Noah
Back on campus, the non-travelling students also had a busy day. The Quilmes High School (QHS) leadership hosted a breakfast for us with apples, bananas, butter cookies with decorative CA and QHS printed fondant, yellow cake cupcakes topped with dulce de leche and sprinkles, a cake I would best describe as a spongier citrus pound cake, and (of course) coffee and tea. After being reminded to “eat some ruffage, fiber is good for you” in the wake of that simple carbohydrate breakfast bomb, the CA students had some time to catch up with their CA and QHS friends before 1st period.
After the bell rang and they said goodbye to their QHS partners… until they all returned a few minutes later holding white fabric in plastic packaging. The QHS exchange families had white QHS hoodies embroidered with “Intercambio Argentina 2024” in QHS green on the back. The CA students love them!
Proudly wearing their new gear, the CA students journeyed across the street to the primary school and preschool. Quilmes High School (yes that’s really the name – look at the website!) is not just a high school; rather, QHS is toddler daycare (~2 years old) through 12th grade and our students got their first chance to visit some adorable nenes and participate in their classes.
Upon returning to the secondary school, it was time to share some of their researched and held knowledge about Cary Academy and North Carolina with the high school students via presentation with dynamic (read: casual) Q&A. The first round lasted about an hour and then we returned after our 2-hour lunch break (many kids go home or go out to eat around Quilmes – there’s no cafeteria in the secondary school), they returned to do much the same with some middle school students. The middle school students asked the best questions… but don’t tell the older kids I said that.
At the end of the day, we crossed the street again to use the dining hall of the primary school to assemble alfajores, the dulce de leche sandwich confections I dearly hope you’ve heard about from your students. Why did we assemble cookies? I’ll let the Day 10 bloggers explain that to you when the time comes : ). The remainder of the minutes were spent consuming even more carbohydrates for merienda having some down time while the CA students waited for their hosts to finish their last class of the day at 5pm so they could go home. I also was able to catch up with my host family from 11 years ago in person which was a marvelous experience – it was so good to see them again! I hope that the connections formed by our students are likewise as energizing and durable as mine has been. -Mr. Bell